Old ice and new
The colours of ice, from pure white to blue to black, depend on the levels of air bubbles and other inclusions in the ice. The newest ice when it first freezes has the most air bubbles and the whitest colour. As ice gets older and is subject to compression by overlying snow and ice, the air bubbles are forced out and/or compressed with more absorption of the red and orange wavelengths and more reflections of the blue wavelengths. The oldest blue and black ice can be over a million year old. This image shows a mixture of old and newer ice near a cliff at the terminus of the Jorge Montt Glacier, Patagonia.
25/04/2021 www.allenfotowild.com
Old ice and new
The colours of ice, from pure white to blue to black, depend on the levels of air bubbles and other inclusions in the ice. The newest ice when it first freezes has the most air bubbles and the whitest colour. As ice gets older and is subject to compression by overlying snow and ice, the air bubbles are forced out and/or compressed with more absorption of the red and orange wavelengths and more reflections of the blue wavelengths. The oldest blue and black ice can be over a million year old. This image shows a mixture of old and newer ice near a cliff at the terminus of the Jorge Montt Glacier, Patagonia.
25/04/2021 www.allenfotowild.com